HOLYOKE — More than 175 people in the region will receive training and job placement assistance — including the creation of a training program at Holyoke Community College designed to help the nursing shortage at area hospitals — as part of nearly $4 million in state workforce grants given out earlier this month.

HCC landed the largest of those grants, a $1.4 million gift to fund a training program to assist 86 unemployed or underemployed individuals, starting them off with jobs as nursing aides before eventually transitioning to positions as licensed practice nurses.

“Health care is one of the largest industry sectors in our region, and it continues to grow,” President George Timmons said in a statement. “We hope that this pathway for licensed practical nurses will help create more family sustainable incomes for nursing assistants.”

According to the college, the program will work by training individuals as nursing aides and help them obtain jobs at area hospitals, such as Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. While employed, the participants will continue training in the college’s licensed practical nurse program.

Chris Yurko, a spokesperson for HCC, said that eligible participants would be identified by local hiring agencies such as MassHire, and that the program extends over a period of three years.

“The first step is to take people identified by hiring agencies and get them into the training program,” he said. “They won’t all be starting at the same time, but rather in different cohorts over the three-year period.”

HCC’s partners in the grant include Baystate Medical Center, Baystate Wing Hospital, MassHire Hampden County, Springfield Works and the National Fund for Workforce Solutions.

The HCC initiative is one of six to receive money through Sen. Kenneth J. Donnelly Workforce Success grant program.

Another grant recipient is Entrepreneurial & Business Collaborative of Springfield, which received nearly $631,000 for training and placement service for 90 unemployed or underemployed participants. Though based in Springfield, the organization plans to partner with several well-known establishments in Hampshire County for participants to work in. Those establishments include Northampton Brewery, River Valley Co-Op and Tandem Bagel Company.

Other grant recipients include the African Bridge Network in Newton, Cambridge College Inc. in Boston and the Cape Cod Regional Technical High School District in Harwich.

The grants are part of the Gov. Maura Healey’s strategic investment in the Massachusetts workforce by developing programs that support individuals facing barriers to employment, such as lack of formal schooling, language barriers, or past involvement with the criminal justice system.

“Our workforce is our greatest competitive strength,” said Healey in a statement. “Every individual in Massachusetts should have access to quality job training, and our employers should have access to the skilled talent they need to do business.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.